Welcome to the Demon’s Cabin - Chapter 4

She stared blankly at the man, now almost entirely wrapped in bandages.

“He really is a person.”

Only now did it begin to feel real.

That a human had appeared, out of nowhere, on her land.

Not a corpse torn to pieces, nor a pile of bones left behind after being eaten by monsters, but a living human. She could see it with her own eyes, yet she could hardly believe it.

How long had it been since she last saw a person?

Living shut away in this wretched den of monsters…… with no one to talk to, no hope, no desires, spending her days in stagnant, meaningless isolation.

And now, like this, at last, a human…….

Irene clasped her hands together as if in prayer. They trembled violently. She could not control her body or mind, overwhelmed by the sudden rush of hope and excitement.

How many times had she thought and wished that if only this crushing loneliness could be eased, anyone would do, anything would do.

It felt as though a wish that had been nothing more than empty fantasy had suddenly crashed into reality.

“Calm down, Irene…….”

She struggled to pull together her fading reason. As she bit down hard on her lip to steady herself, a small bead of blood formed.

“This is not the first time you have faced a human.”

Not like this, suddenly appearing within her territory, but she had seen humans several times before, and even exchanged words with them.

Or perhaps calling it conversation was not quite right.

Every one of them had been too pitiful to even be called a proper exchange. Irene’s mouth twisted as dark memories surfaced.

The reactions of those who saw her had always been the same.

Humans who beheld a monster with vivid red eyes speaking in a human voice would, without exception, be seized by terror and beg for their lives.

Faces that looked up at her with eyes tangled with disgust and terror, voices trembling so badly they could not even finish a sentence. Empty pleas and screams.

Ah, there were rare cases where people showed her affection.

“Those revolting fanatics.”

Fierce hostility surfaced in Irene’s eyes as she recalled the crazed faces of demon worshippers.

They cried out that they were finally beholding a great demon, that they had sacrificed countless lives and committed sins for her sake, so she should grant their wish. Irene had never seen eyes that gleamed so unpleasantly in her life.

Those idiots who dared to call her a demon irritated her beyond measure. To the point that she did not want to let them live a moment longer, human or not.

Anyone would feel the same listening to that repulsive worship. They were a breed she never wanted to see again.

They were all nothing but loathsome memories stained with blood.

No, perhaps what was even more unbearable was the fact that no one ever listened to her voice.

After that, Irene hid herself away like this, deep within the forest of the Black Mountain Range, shut inside her own territory. If she did not meet humans, she would not be hurt.

“The problem is always loneliness…….”

Because of this damned solitude. As time passed, she foolishly found herself craving another’s warmth again.

Anyone would do. Someone to stay by her side, someone to listen.

In the dark nights and early dawns, she could not stop thinking like that.

That foolish wish only grew more and more uncontrollable. Even the clear lake she loved, even the beautiful flowers, could not soothe her heart.

Was that why this man, appearing just then, felt almost like a revelation?

He was so badly injured he could not even open his eyes. Of course, he showed no face twisted in terror, no eyes clouded with madness.

With a bitter smile, Irene spoke to him as if murmuring to herself.

“But if you were conscious, it would have been completely different, wouldn’t it? I wonder what kind of things you would have said to get under my skin.”

Judging by the divine symbols etched all over his clothes and accessories, he seemed to be the opposite of a demon worshipper. In that case, his reaction was obvious. He would loathe her, yet beg in fear. Just imagining it made her mood sink to the bottom.

Yes. She knew all of that.

It was a meaningless, foolish hope that would soon be shattered anyway. Irene looked at the blond man, his face twisted in pain.

Sitting by the bed and tending to him made it feel as though she had returned to a long-missed time.

A dazzling time when she was not a monster like this. Back then, being with someone and smiling face to face had felt so natural. Because she could never return to it, the longing cut all the deeper.

Without thinking, Irene lifted her head and looked out the window. Beyond the shimmering blue ripples of the lake, her two red eyes were faintly reflected in the clear glass.

Those hateful eyes were proof of her existence as a wicked being, and no different from the beginning of all her misfortune.

As if she did not even want to see or think about that bloodlike color, Irene slowly turned her head away.